


End Of the World

by adam_idx



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Apocalypse, Gay, Modern Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, Multi, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27841465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adam_idx/pseuds/adam_idx
Summary: The year is 2067. 17 years after the titan virus was first detected in a human. The world is starting to repair, slowly, yet surely. Civilisations have been established. The only remnant of the once government is the military, split up but assigned to protect certain villages. Mikasa, Eren and Armin along with their friends are all enlisted in the scout unit, assigned to the town of Trost, and life is getting back to normal after a devastating titan attack the previous month. A new military unit, dubbed "The Warriors" has been sent out to help with repairs.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Levi/Erwin Smith, Mikasa Ackerman/Annie Leonhart
Comments: 17
Kudos: 113





	1. Chapter 1

All Mikasa had known was the apocalypse. She was born in 2050, 5 days after the first human case of the titan virus was detected. She was born in a city called Shiganshina, and her and her family of 3 lived happily for a couple of years. They were lucky, the area had been relatively controlled, and the crime rate was low. She managed to reach the age of 9 before the bubble of peace was shattered. Luckily, Eren Yaeger and his mother were kind. They welcomed her into the family, and once again there was peace. Until there wasn't. A devastating horde of the titans had gathered, and some mindless idiot opened the gate that surrounded the city, letting them flood in. Eren's mother had not survived. Not wishing for anyone to come to any harm ever again, they and their friend Armin joined a military branch. It was gruelling work, some not even surviving the brutal training regime, but somehow they made it. Cut to the current year, 2067, and yet another horde has been let into the local town of trost, one that the military was supposed to be protecting, but due to low numbers and supplies, it wasn't enough. They got through, and it was not something that Mikasa could forgive herself for. This would not happen again. 

Mikasa quickly got up, cursing herself. She was late. And she was never late. It was all Eren's fault of course, he had promised to wake her after a long night of partying, but of course, he didn't. She ran down the corridor, peeking in and out of rooms, looking for Armin. They were on filing duty today (the worst job), and she didn't know which room they were meant to be in. She turned the door of one room, and looked in to get a great view of a young blonde woman pinned to the wall, while a taller blonde was kissing up and down her neck. When the shorter woman suddenly caught sight of Mikasa, who had quickly averted her eyes and was now walking out of the room, she let out a small yelp, and pushed the taller woman off her. Mikasa only rolled her eyes as she left. She could clearly see they were superiors, which in some ways was worse. They shouldn't be messing about, doing all of that lovey-dovey stuff while on duty. It was just unprofessional. In all honesty, Mikasa didn't quite believe in love. She had never been in love, and was starting to think that she never would be. 

As she hurried away from the scene, she finally found the office where Armin was already sat down, and sifting through various documents. When he saw her, he smiled.

"Hey Mikasa. Usually don't see you in here this late, partying with Jean again?" Armin wiggled his eyebrows, giving a playful smirk. He knew the mention of Jean would get on her nerves.

Steam seemed to be blowing out of Mikasa's ears, as she slowly stepped towards Armin. 

"Armin. I have told you already. I. Don't. Like. Jean. Now shut up before i slap you."

Armin immediately took this threat seriously. He could see she wasn't joking. Mikasa looked around the office, finally seeing Eren half asleep on one of the desks in the corner. She marched over and slapped him, hard, across the face. He woke up suddenly, and screamed in pain, cradling his face in his hands.

"That's for not waking me up in the morning, dickhead. Hopefully that will teach you not to do it again."

Eren whimpered in pain, not wanting to further the interaction with Mikasa, and simply nodded. Mikasa, satisfied, went over to Armin and gathered her share of the files.

"We're sorting out new additions to the town, and guess what? We get to look at the new squadron that's coming today!" Armin smiled and spun around in his chair, happy that they would be getting something more interesting than the information on the makeshift garbage disposal. Mikasa released a small smile. She too was happy about the news, but she didn't enjoy conveying that emotion much. In fact, she didn't enjoy conveying most emotions much. As they went through the files, one specific file caught Mikasa's eye. Annie Leonhart. Blonde hair, deep mysterious eyes. Bored expression. Nothing special, except something about that image made Mikasa's heart skip a beat slightly. She quickly looked away and dumped it on the finished pile.

"You'll never guess who i saw making out in a spare office Armin" Mikasa said, looking over and stopping what she was doing. Armin did the same, his eyes snapping up from the file on his desk.

"It was 100% Ymir, she's always making out with someone or other. Although, since Krista's been coming round i've seen her coming out of people's rooms a lot less..."

"Nope. I'll give you a clue, it's one of the officers." Armin's jaw dropped to the floor. "Mikasa, I give up. I don't believe you - one of the higher ups?"

"Ok, I'll tell you. It was Rico!" Armin's soul left his body there and then. "Who were they making out with? It couldn't have been Mike, couldn't it?"

Mikasa folded her arms. "I didn't see, but if i were to take any bets i would say Nanaba. Looked very similar." Armin couldn't physically take this anymore. His eyes were bulging so much Mikasa began to worry if they would pop out of his head. 

"No way. I don't believe you. Absolutely no way." Armin began to laugh, and shook his head, returning to his work. Mikasa looked over her shoulder, seeing Eren once again asleep.

"Ugh, why hasn't he been fired yet? He does no work. I do it all for him."

"Because he's a great soldier, and they need all the help they can get. And everyone knows that paperwork is boring." Armin replied with a sigh, also turning to look at Eren, though he had some sort of a dreamy look in his eye. Mikasa wanted to gag. Of all the people who could've dated, did it have to be her two best friends? It had only been a couple of months, but it felt like years already. The dreamy looks, the suffocating compliments, the need to be licking down each other's throats at all times. Mikasa had voiced her discomfort, but they just laughed and said that she's get it when she fell in love. Mikasa doubted that day would come, she presumed she would just have to deal with the unanswered question for the rest of her existence. 


	2. Chapter 2

It had finally reached lunch break, and the three of them were headed off to the dining hall. Mikasa had argued that they leave Eren in the office, since he did absolutely no work that morning, but Armin woke him anyway. Damn that boy and his ability to forgive anyone. They entered, and veered off to the left to go to the corner where their group resided. Sasha and Connie were already there, they never missed a minute of lunch break. They were about the only people there, although the room was filling up more and more by the second. They sat down, lunch already on the table. 

"Shit for lunch again?" Eren complained, grimacing at the gruel while sitting down. "Not much else to eat, what with the apocalypse going on and all that." Mikasa replied sticking a fork in, and swallowing down the grey sludge, trying her best not to make a face as it slid down her throat. 

"It's just i'm not really in the mood to throw up on patrol again, that's all," replied, still making a face at the food. Armin smiled softly, and put a hand on Eren's. "Come one, you know you need to eat it." Eren softened a bit, but grumbled as he started to eat the meal.

"I agree with you there Eren," Sasha interrupted, "this stuff is disgusting! I miss my dad making me the best food around. He used to be a chef you know, now he hunts for the little wildlife there is left."

Just then Marco and Jean walked over, arguing over something.

"...They're military, you might like them!" Marco pleaded.

"

Just because they're military doesn't mean anything Marco. They used to be part of a militia, before they got picked up by the military. I don't trust them."

"Well, please, just don't attack them when they get here. Please." Marco looked worried, tugging on Jean's sleeve. 

Everyone sat at the table had a confused look on their face. Marco and Jean rarely argued.

"What's up horseface? Trouble in paradise i see?" Jean shot a look towards Eren, going to sit as far away as he could from him. "Nothing that concerns you, Yaeger, we were just discussing the new guys coming this evening. And I was saying that we shouldn't trust them. They almost 100% have some sort of motive. I'm calling it now."

Everyone just looked at him in disbelief. In the corner of her eye, Mikasa could see Marco shaking his head.

"What? Jean, they were literally sent by the other branch of military. We literally have nothing to worry about." Armin started smirking, then burst into laughter, followed by everyone except Jean and Mikasa.

"What's funny? I'm being serious you guys." Jean reasoned, crossing his arms. Just then, the bell went signifying the end of lunch break. Mikasa stood up, and took her tray with her, emptying it into the bin. She thought on Jean's words, and her mind drew her back to that girl, Annie Leonhart. She wondered if the group really did have any motives other than to help.

They were now in the armoury, they had already put on their uniforms - tall brown boots that went up to their knees, a scouts jacket that cut off at the waist and a green cloak. Now they were getting ODM gear an preparing to go out on patrol. 

"The captain's said it isn't too busy out there, he just went out before. Lucky us." Eren sighed. He was always looking for a fight. "Eren, the last time we got cornered by the titans, you almost got your arm bitten off, so you better be grateful for this. I cannot be bothered to save your ass again." Mikasa said absently, pulling up the cannisters to her side, then strapping it all on. Eren went to help Armin get all the straps in the right place, and it seemed that Armin had royally messed up. Mikasa tested out her blade holsters, then went over to help Eren out.

Once they had sorted themselves out, they went over to look at the rota to see what area they would be covering. 

"You're in luck Eren. We're next to the wall. You might just get that fight you've been wanting after all." Eren pumped his fists in the air, then ran over to the stables, screaming "ADVENTURE!!!" Mikasa turned to Armin. "I don't know what you see in him, honestly." Armin smiled weakly, then trudged off, probably to keep Eren from punching Jean at the stables. Mikasa reluctantly followed him.

The team consisting of Eren, Armin and Mikasa were 30 minutes into their patrol, and Eren was already complaining about how bored he was.

"Look, all i want is a bit of action, that's it. I'm just bored!" "Right, shut up Eren. Even i'm getting sick of this. You do it every time we go out!" Armin snapped, looking extremely annoyed. That shut Eren up. Armin hardly ever shouted. The patrol was mostly uneventful until they were nearing the end. This seemed to happen every single time, they would think that they were in the clear, then boom! Titans waiting around the corner. Nothing Mikasa couldn't handle though. They rounded a corner on an abandoned street, coming face to face with a 3 meter and a 5 meter. "I'll take the 5 meter, Eren, you take the 3!" Mikasa shouted, activating the ODM gear. She anchored onto a nearby building, swinging herself around to get a good angle on the nape of the monster. Quickly, she hooked onto the neck of the giant, spinning around to slice the weak point. She gracefully landed on the ground, seeing Eren attempt the same move, but failing spectacularly. He flew off in the opposite direction, and Mikasa sighed, moving to get into a good position. She did, and then performed the same move as before, taking out the titan easily. Armin tended to Eren, who looked to only have sprained an ankle. 

"You need to stop trying to be like me. You just can't do that move, it's too advanced." Eren huffed, then got up to sit back on his horse. "Shut up! You can't tell me what to do!"

Mikasa squinted her eyes at him, giving him a good deathstare. He looked away. He knew what it felt like to be under attack from an Ackerman deathstare, and he didn't want to experience that again. "I am literally your sergeant, I could get you kicked out of my squad if i wanted to. The reasons i haven't yet are one- Mina and Thomas are still in the infirmary, two- Marco just transferred to be on Jean's squad, and three- Armin wants you on this squad."

Eren raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure it's not because you like me?"

"Eren, I swear to fucking god when we get back to the base, i'm gonna fucking kill you. And then give you our cleanup duties." That caught Eren's attention. Mikasa internally congratulated herself, this was sure to sort out his issues. The worst threat she could make to him was cleanup duties. 

"Mikasa!" Eren pleaded, "please don't give me cleanup! not even Armin can make me feel better after that! I'll behave, I promise!" Mikasa rode on, following the trail she knew well. She looked ahead, ignoring Eren's pleas. She might not give him kitchen duties. Might.


	3. Chapter 3

Mikasa didn't end up giving Eren kitchen duties, however it wouldn't have mattered either way because everyone was sent to their dorms to prepare for the guests. It had already been decided who was sharing with who, and Mikasa knew she was going to be sharing with at least one person as she managed to get a room to herself at the start of the year - sharing with Eren and Armin was not a good choice to make. She didn't however know who exactly she would be sharing with. Mikasa's mind yet again wandered to the Leonhart girl... her eyes burning themselves into her brain. She lay on her bed until they all got called to the hall to greet the Warriors.

Eren and Armin were standing outside her room, and when she came out Eren burst into laughter.

"Oh jeez Mikasa, your hair! You been lying down or something?" Eren said in between giggles. Armin smirked, looking away from her disgraceful hair. Mikasa sighed.

"I don't give two fucks about the state of my hair, let's just go down and get this warriors shit over and done with. You guys will probably be lucky and not have to share with anyone."

They walked down the hall until they reached Connie, Sasha, Jean and Marco's room. Inside all they heard was pure chaos (as always), loud bangs, the sound of things breaking, Sasha shouting something about Connie stealing her food. Connie should've learned his lesson by now. Eren knocked on the door, which was opened by Sasha following a series of loud thumps. 

"Hiya Eren, we'll be out in a sec," Sasha said breathily, glancing behind her momentarily. Eren smiled. "Sure thing Sash. I always love you guys' weird ass relationship - it keeps me happy in these depressing times, you know?" Armin beamed - this was obviously his idea. He then put his arm over Eren's shoulder and leaned his head onto his shoulder. Eren immediately stiffened up, trying to move away from Armin. Sasha smiled at the two of them and closed the door, leaving Armin looking deflated and hurt. Eren wasn't yet comfortable in his sexuality - it had taken him a long time to realise and accept his feelings for Armin - who by the way was extremely helpful and supportive on his journey - and even longer for him to even consider touching Armin in a public space. Mikasa could relate in that way, though she wasn't even past stage one. She had some attractions to women, and she found men attractive, but she wouldn't quite say that she would be willing to date guys. Like, she could appreciate that they had nice features, but actually kissing them and doing... other stuff... with them was not on the table. 

Jean and Marco finally left the room, Connie and Sasha tailing them. 

"Sorry about that guys," Marco said, his smile immediately lifting the mood. Mikasa swore that man was some sort of god. "We got held up trying to find Sasha's extra meal tickets. Connie hid them, _again._ "

"Sorry for being the only funny person in this entire building, someone has to have a sense of humor in this suffocatingly depressing place."

"Connie, you're not funny!" Sasha argued, moving to Connie's area. Jean stepped in. "Woah! We are not having this conversation again! Let's just go down and forget this ever happened." He then took Marco's hand and walked down the hall, not bothering to wait for the rest of them. 

"I agree," Mikasa said, "Let's go."

Commander Erwin gave a long speech about respect, blah blah blah yeah boring stuff. Hanji came on for a little bit and talked about things that no one really understood, but they brought energy to the stage that was much appreciated. Hanji may be crazy, but at least they never had a boring moment. It finally came time for the warriors to come up and talk about their unit, and up on stage 6 people stood. Mikasa scanned them as they introduced themselves. First was Zeke, a fairly old dude who was their captain, Reiner, a pretty built guy who was second in command, Bertholt, a freakishly tall guy, Porco and Marcel, brothers, Pieck, an extremely pretty lady relying on a crutch to walk, and finally Annie. Annie Leonhart, the woman plaguing Mikasa's mind for the entire day. She was short, shorter than Mikasa would've expected, and had a large nose that protruded from her face. Her blonde hair was in a bun, swept partially over her face, covering one of her eyes. Then as soon as she stepped up, she stepped back, and was off the stage, probably off to find her new room. Erwin was up with Zeke again, explaining some boring stuff about their jobs. Erwin dismissed them all, and Mikasa hurried off without Eren and Armin, wishing to be alone with her thoughts.

When she got up to her dorm however, a sheet of paper was plastered on her door. 'New dormmate: Annie Leonhart'. Mikasa's heart skipped a beat, and she pressed an ear up to the door, hearing somebody walking around inside. Mikasa stormed in without knocking, stumbling into a rather surprised Annie Leonhart, who was unfortunately not wearing too many clothes. Mikasa stood awkwardly as Annie froze, staring right back at her. Finally, she spoke.

"What are you doing in here? Have you ever heard of knocking?" Annie said, completely embarrassed and perplexed.

"This is my room, dumbass. I could ask you the same thing." Mikasa shot back, refusing to move. 

Annie sighed. "Not only do i have a roommate, but she's also a complete bitch on top of that." Annie muttered to herself, backing down and attempting to find some spare clothes. Mikasa remained where she was. Annie turned.

"Would you mind?" The blonde girl questioned. 

Mikasa blushed slightly. "Uh, sure" she said, while turning to face the door. While Annie was getting dressed, Mikasa decided to try and make conversation. They were roommates after all.

"So, you ever killed a titan?"

"Yeah. You?"

"I have, yes."

Silence.

"Are you looking forward to staying at the base then?"

"Not really no - now that i've met you."

"Ah. Well, i hope you enjoy it here. It's not too bad."

Wow, Mikasa was bad at this. Of all her skills, socialising was the worst. Killing titans was much easier. Suddenly, an alarm rang out.

"Titans!" Mikasa shouted, scrambling to get her uniform on. It didn't matter that there was someone else, because an alarm meant that there was a huge attack coming. Mikasa glanced over to Annie, spotting a unicorn badge on her uniform.

"Wait, you're MP?" Mikasa had heard of the Military police, but only hearing of its corruption and cowardice even before the outbreak. 

"No." The shorter girl didn't offer any more information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright, i'll try and update this more regularly! it's the holidays now so i get a break from school and i'll probably be able to write a bit more often. thank you to everyone who read it and left kudos!


	4. Chapter 4

Mikasa ran along the corridor, alarms blaring in her ears, Annie right behind her. She was still pulling on her scouts cloak as she ran, almost dropping it in the process. To her left there was a screen on the wall. It was flashing a deep crimson, which only meant a major titan attack was imminent. Mikasa swore under her breath. This was very bad. She glanced back at Annie, who had a straight face still plastered on, and she looked very calm about the situation at hand. She most likely didn’t know what it meant. Mikasa, of course, looked exactly the same, although her feelings within were a stark contrast to those on the outside. Mikasa settled to focus on the task ahead. Kill as many titans as possible. Mikasa once again stole a glance back at Annie. Same expression, only this time she noticed Mikasa staring slightly.

“Like what you see?” Annie winked. Mikasa immediately turned around, an unfamiliar warmth rising to her cheeks. Up ahead she could see Eren and Armin rushing to put their jackets and cloaks on.

“Shit shit shit shit! Armin hurry up it’s a code red!” Eren swore, flicking his head around at the screens displaying the flashes of red. “Fuck! I know Eren, I’m trying!” Armin reasoned, running out the room while still pulling his jacket on, and tying various straps together. Armin glanced back, catching sight of Mikasa and the shorter woman. They acknowledged each other with a nod, and they all sped down the corridor, Eren swearing like a sailor. This had only happened once before, and that was when Shiganshina had been attacked – Eren, Mikasa and Armin weren’t even enrolled into the military at that time. They ran to the armoury, pulling on the ODM gear as fast as humanly possible. Annie seemed well – versed in the technique of putting on the gear quickly, as she was the first one to get all of her stuff on. She stood there, looking expectantly at Mikasa.

“What are you doing?” Mikasa asked, fumbling with a strap.

Annie looked confused. “I don’t know where you go to get debriefed here.”

“Just, go and help Armin or something.” Mikasa said, still failing to do up a strap behind her thigh.

“I think you need a bit of help first.” She said, stepping behind Mikasa, and doing up the strap. Mikasa froze. She didn’t know what this feeling was – the feeling of butterflies in her stomach, for reasons she couldn’t place. Her heartbeat sped up, and once again a warmth rose to her cheeks. She tried to shake the feeling, but with Annie moving her hands up and down her legs it was getting hard to concentrate. Annie moved her hands away, and Mikasa couldn’t stop the feeling of not wanting them to be removed. The blonde girl moved over to where Armin was standing and began to help him. Mikasa simply stood there, attempting to gain control over her racing heart. Looking at Annie certainly wasn’t helping. She turned her head, slowly walking over to the stables where Jean was saddling up horses as quick as he could.

“Hurry the fuck up Mikasa! You know how much we need you out there!” Jean shouted at her. Mikasa’s legs were slightly jittery – but she managed to clamber onto a horse and then head out to where the gate was. There could never have been a worse time for whatever this was to happen. She attempted to get her head in the game again, focusing on the task ahead, letting tunnel vision take over. She took her place just behind Captain Levi – her squad leader. Unlike Eren, she had advanced through the ranks extremely quickly, coming to be the sergeant of her own squad within the first year of being in the Survey Corps. Eren was extremely jealous. Armin had instead focused on working his intelligence, advancing up to be Commander Erwin’s right hand man. Eren was also jealous, but not as much as with Mikasa’s position.

“Alright soldiers! There’s a huge mob of titans heading our way, we’ve got 5 three metres, 6 five metres, and 4 seven metres! I trust that you can handle this. Arrow formation!” Erwin shouted, before yelling and urging his horse on to gallop out the gate. The soldiers followed him without doubts, moving into the formation. Behind her, she could sense that Eren and Armin were there along with someone else. The raven – haired girl could only assume that it was Annie. They rode on, and caught sight of the giants stomping their way towards them. She knew others would falter, and slow down, but Mikasa spurred onwards, riding faster, unable to contain her excitement for this mission. It had been a while since anything this interesting had happened. She stood up on her horse, taking in a deep breath, her scarf flapping around in the wind. The first titans came into sight, and Mikasa let the Ackerman gene take over, propelling herself towards a tree, flying up into a tree, then anchoring onto a titan and spinning around towards the nape. She didn’t know the science behind why the nape was a weak point, and she didn’t need to. All she knew was that a bite wound was worse than being swallowed by a titan. She had seen it far too much. Everything seemed to be going well – Mikasa had been sub – consciously tallying up her titan kills – 5 so far. Blood was steaming off her face, and she anchored onto a nearby tree to look over the battlefield. Something wasn’t right, she soon realised, when half of her comrades were gone. She saw Thomas lying on the ground. She then saw about 50 titans milling around, soldiers flying frantically between them. When had they got there? Levi was doing all he could, attempting to protect Erwin who was lying on the ground missing a hand. A familiar scream reached her ears, and she immediately turned to see Eren hanging above a titan’s mouth, Armin in tears and screaming desperately. Mikasa sprung into action, moving with unhuman-like speeds. She tore off the nape of the bearded titan, and span to catch Eren when he fell. He was delirious – head lolled, eyes in the back of his head. Mikasa felt a warmth spreading across her stomach, looking down and realising that Eren’s arm was absent. She choked. This couldn’t be happening. The only person she had left… was going to die. All emotion drained from her. She had to salvage the situation. She was an Ackerman. She could do anything she wanted. She slowly stood and prepared her ODM gear.

The next 10 minutes was a blur. From what she heard, she killed 35 titans. Mikasa couldn’t remember anything.


	5. Chapter 5

The next thing she knew, Mikasa was lying down in the infirmary. She blinked at the harsh light above her, and attempted to take in her surroundings. Wires were stuck to her arms and chest, and a heart monitor was on the end of her finger. Then she started regaining memories of what had happened on the battlefield, so many of her fellow soldiers dead – and Eren. At the thought of the boy she started pulling of the wires, until gentle hands caught her own.

“Woah there, calm it down Ackerman.”

Mikasa looked up and saw familiar blue eyes staring back into hers.

“Where is Eren?” Mikasa asked calmly, trying to keep her breath under control.

“Who?”

“Eren, dark brown hair, green eyes, the one you rode with?” Annie looked confused for a moment.

“Ohhh! The one who lost an arm?” Mikasa exhaled – Eren was still alive. But this bliss only lasted a moment, before the revelation came around that Eren would only turn into a titan after this – the bite was too far up his arm for an amputation. She needed to see him, before she couldn’t.

She once again started to remove the wires, only this time ignoring Annie’s attempts at trying to stop her.

“Hey, stop being so fucking annoying for one second ok? Your boyfriend Eren or whatever his name is, is fine. So just sit back down and sit it out for one moment, ok?” Annie said, seizing Mikasa’s hands and holding them in place.

That warm feeling was creeping up Mikasa’s face again. She suppressed it this time, looking away.

“What do you mean Eren’s ok? He’s been fucking bitten, and I know they can’t amputate that far up. Let me fucking see him! And he’s not my fucking boyfriend!” Mikasa shouted, her voice rising with every word. Annie persisted, still trapping Mikasa’s hands in place.

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on, except that this guy isn’t showing symptoms. Now please stop, I’m getting tired.”

Mikasa went wide – eyed. Not showing symptoms? By now most people with a bite would’ve been almost into stage 1, their body growing abnormally. She stopped struggling, lying back down in the bed. Annie went back and sat down on a chair on the other side of the room.

“Why are you here?” Mikasa inquired.

Annie looked over. “What?”

“You know, why did you come? I don’t even really know you, and I already know you don’t like me. So why?”

Mikasa swore she saw red dust the blonde girl’s cheeks, if only for a second.

“Jeez, I don’t fucking know. The blondie is staying in the ICU with the dumbass who got bitten so I figured you might be lonely.” She said with a shrug.

“Where are the others then? The ones that aren’t dead, that is.” Annie released a slight smirk.

“They’re out on patrol, from what I’ve heard, and I haven’t heard much so don’t quote me on that please.” This time is was Mikasa’s turn to release a slight smirk. Just then, someone opened the door, and walked over to Mikasa’s bed.

“Hey!” A short dark – haired woman said to her, “You feeling better?”

Mikasa dug around in her brain for this woman’s name. She knew it was somewhere.

“What are you doing in here Pieck? It said do not disturb on the outside.” Annie said, standing up and walking over.

“Well, since I am trained in the art of medicine I thought I might pop in and see how she’s doing! Is that such a bad thing?” Pieck said with a smile. The bags under her eyes seemed more apparent since Mikasa saw her last.

Annie grumbled something under her breath and went to sit down, looking at a book.

“Also, do any of you know where Yelena is? I’ve been meaning to tell her something.” Pieck asked, addressing both of them.

Mikasa saw Annie smirking. “That was quick Pieck, we’ve barely been here a week and you’re already making your move on someone. Good luck with it.”

Pieck instantly went red. “Annie, listen here. If you say anything remotely like what you just said again, I will not hesitate to…” She seemed to stop and think about her next words, “Take this up with Zeke”

Annie pretended to gasp. “Oh no... not the big bad Zeke! I beg for your mercy, m’lady. I don’t know where Yelena is by the way, and I doubt Ackerman does, since she can’t really think straight at the moment..” Pieck looked crestfallen, and began to walk out the door, relying heavily on a crutch.

Mikasa cleared her throat, causing the woman to look around. “Yelena is usually in comms during working hours, if that helps.” Pieck immediately smiled.

“Thanks… Ackerman was it?” Mikasa nodded, “That’s a huge help.” She hobbled out, walking slightly faster than she did before.

“You think they’d be a good match then?” Annie said, picking up a book. Mikasa thought on this. They seemed to be the opposites of eachother, Yelena being a 6’7” giraffe who was cold and opened up to no one, and Pieck, a short, kindhearted woman who seemed to be the type of person to care about everyone. A match made in heaven.

“They’d probably be perfect together. Although, Yelena is difficult to get along with at times.” Annie snorted. “Pieck can literally get along with anybody, it’s hard not to like her.”

They sat in silence for a while. Mikasa contemplated all the reasons why Eren wasn’t showing symptoms, all of them not making any sense. Could he possibly be immune to the virus? That was extremely far – fetched, but not completely ruled out. She thought of Armin, sitting next to Eren’s bedside. She knew he would never leave him, they would probably end up getting married – if marriage still mattered in the future, that is. She dreamed of what their life could be, to distract from what it was. Although she hated when they acted all “couple-y” around her, she knew they were an example of a perfect couple. Mikasa wondered if she could ever reach that level of perfection with someone else. She looked at Annie, trying to see what book she was reading. Annie eventually noticed her, and looked up.

“It’s Little Women.”

Mikasa gave a confused look.

“The book. It’s called Little Women. You looked like you wanted to know.” Annie said, looking back down.

“Oh. Cool. I’ve never heard of it before, what’s it about?”

Annie put the book down, almost excitedly, and began explaining the plot. Mikasa could tell from the way she gave her opinions on every little situations, that she was a total bookworm.

“And that about concludes it, although I honestly think that Jo was not heterosexual, she definitely deserved to at least be single by the end.”

Mikasa sighed a little bit, then lay back in her bed.

“Thanks for the commentary on the entire plot of the book, nerd.” She said, laughing. Annie blushed and picked up the book, burying her face in it to hide. This only made Mikasa smile more, and she slowly felt herself growing on the shorter girl. Suddenly, a question popped into Mikasa's head that burned, and before thinking she blurted it out.

"So, are you like, gay then?" She quickly said, redness rising to her cheeks.

Annie looked up and squinted at Mikasa. "Yeah. So what? You tryna hate crime me or something?"

"No! Nothing like that. I promise, i was just wondering - that's all."

"So what about you then?"

"What?" 

Annie smirked. "You into guys or girls, i mean."

Mikasa once again turned a deep crimson shade. "Well, i haven't really had time to think about that... aspect of my self yet." She said, attempting to laugh awkwardly. Annie turned back to her book, chuckling slightly.

An hour passed, and they sat in a comfortable silence, basking in the presence of one another. Mikasa had never felt this at – ease before, she felt so calm yet no words passed between them. It helped in taking her mind off Eren. After relaxing in the silence, the door opened, and a frail Armin walked in. Mikasa sat up immediately, the tranquillity melting off rapidly.

“Hey Armin… you good?” Mikasa asked, taking the wires off (finally) and walking up to him. Annie noticed, but pursed her lips, sensing that this needed to happen. Armin simply stood there, a glassy look behind his eyes.

“They’re saying he’s immune, Mikasa.” Armin said finally.

Mikasa let out a sigh of relief. “That’s great Armin! I’m so relieve-“

Armin collapsed onto the floor, tears streaming down his face. “I thought he was going to die Mikasa! I-I thought I would have to say goodbye… I just can’t believe how lucky he – we are. I was holding it all in for him, but I can’t anymore!”

As Armin sobbed, Mikasa let him cry into her shoulder. To put it simply, she didn’t quite know what to do. She looked down and realised that she too, was crying. She blinked a few times, and wiped her eyes. This was unlike her. She never cried. Eventually, both she and Armin stopped, and they regained their composure by sitting on the bed and sipping some tea. Captain Levi had come round and dropped it off for them, whispering something in Armin’s ear that made him choke up a little. All through this the blonde girl had just sat in the corner with her book, trying not to disturb anyone. Armin finally let out a deep breath.

“So, Annie was it? That was quite an eventful first couple of days for you huh?” Armin gave a trying smile.

“Yeah I guess so. I’ve had more stressful times in my life before though, this was pretty easy for me to cope with. Especially considering I don’t know any of you. It must’ve been tougher on you guys.” Annie said. Both Armin and Mikasa nodded. “Well I should be off. I imagine Zeke wants to talk to my squad again, although Pieck might be a little hard to track down, what with her mission to find Yelena.” At this information Armin widened his eyes slightly. “I’ll see you tonight I guess, Ackerman. Hope you feel a bit better.” And with that, Annie left, Mikasa’s eyes following her out.

“We have a lot to unpack Mika.” Came Armin’s voice.

She turned around. “Like what?”

“Like how someone is after Yelena, the coldest bitch I know, and your little crush on that Leonhart girl!”

Mikasa spat her tea out as she was drinking. “I absolutely do not have a crush on her! You know I don’t have time for that kind of shit Armin, I’ve told you countless times.”

Armin let out an almost maniacal laugh. “I saw how you look at her, how your eyes follow her out. You have completely and utterly fallen for her, even though you’ve literally known her like 3 days.”

Mikasa punched him in the shoulder, and laughed it off. She didn’t have feelings for anyone, let alone Annie. She laughed to herself then finished off her tea. 


	6. Chapter 6

For the next week after the latest attack, reality hit hard. Many of Mikasa’s friends and comrades were dead. Mina, Tomas, and many more. Everyone was depressed. This was the worst attack the unit had seen. Hanji, the resident scientist responsible for all their technological advancements, had holed themselves up in a lab along with some of Eren’s DNA for most of the week. Erwin and Levi were getting a bit worried, but everyone knew it was best to leave them alone. They worked best alone. Eren and Armin became inseparable, as Eren healed from his injury. He now was missing an arm, but that was better than ending up as a titan. He was hoping to get a mechanical one, like Erwin’s, but with Hanji locked up in their lab there was nothing that could be done. Mikasa dealt with this trauma the same way she always did – put it to the back of her mind and forget about it. Every time she did this she felt more hollow, but that was better than being an emotional wreck.

Morning once again. Mikasa got up, ordered a coffee to her room, and then waited on the chair opposite the bunks. She relaxed back into her chair, and like clockwork her eyes fell upon a sleeping Annie. This had happened every other morning this week, and she didn’t want to say it, but she didn’t want to stop it. The girl looked full of emotion when she slept, whether it be scared, or happy, it was a stark difference to when she was awake.

“Are you staring at me?”

Mikasa jolted our of her trance and almost fell out of her chair. “W-what? No, no I wasn’t staring. I was just… lost in thought.”

The blonde girl raised an eyebrow. “Really? Because you were staring pretty intensely in my direction.”

Mikasa didn’t have the energy to deny anymore. “Alright. Fine. Maybe I was.”

This seemed to shock Annie, as she immediately turned away, and lay down on her bunk.

“Why?” Came a small voice. “Why were you staring at me?”

Mikasa blushed. “I’ll tell you later.”

They sat in silence until Mikasa’s coffee came to the door, and she left for breakfast, leaving Annie in a stunned silence.

Breakfast was as depressing as ever, signified by the way Jean wasn’t trying to pick a fight with Eren, and Sasha had barely touched her food. They sat in silence for almost the whole meal.

“So, Mikasa,” Eren eventually popped up, “How’s Annie as a roommate? I hear from Armin you have a little crush on her?” He said, wiggling his eyebrows slightly.

Mikasa blushed furiously. “Shut the fuck up you piece of shit. I don’t have a crush on anyone, you hear me?” Her voice began to rise and she stood up. “Now if you say anything along those lines again I will shove that ratty little mouth of yours straight up your behind, you hear me? Straight. Up. Your. Behind.” Eren stared in horror back, everyone on the table’s eyes wide.

“Jeez Mikasa I was just tryna lighten the mood. I’m sorry if I offended you, although that type of reaction is giving me the vibe that maybe you might like her a little bit…” At this point, Mikasa simply got up from the table, and walked over to Eren’s side.

“Uhhh Mika what are y-“ She slapped him, as hard as she could.

“I am not in the mood for your bullshit.” She said, walking off to their squad office while Eren’s nose bled onto the floor. She immersed herself in work for the remainder of breakfast. It was boring, yes, but better she got it done now so she could relax for the rest of the week. A knock came at the door, and Armin popped his head around the door.

“You left your coffee.” He said, stepping in and sitting down opposite Mikasa. He offered the drink to her, but she waved him off.

“Are you sure? You honestly don’t look too good Mika.” The boy said, worry painted across his face.

“I’m fine Armin. Seriously.” She said, furiously typing. Armin glanced down at this, doubting every word she said.

“Somehow I don’t believe that Mika. Something is up, I know it.” At this Mikasa slammed her hands onto the desk in frustration.

“I said I’m fine dude! Just back off.” She knew he had good intentions, but right now she was not in the mood. “Look, I just need some space. That’s how I deal with trauma like this, I just lock it away and never look at it again!”

Armin sighed. “It’s going to have to come out someday Mika, and when that day comes it will not be pretty. Talk about it, it doesn’t have to be me. Just tell someone about it. Please.” Mikasa continued her typing, trying her best to zone out Armin’s words, because she knew they were true. She couldn’t keep doing this forever.

“Fine. I’ll talk to someone about it. In my own time, so don’t keep asking me if I’ve done it.” Armin smiled at Mikasa.

“I’m glad you’ve decided to do this. You don’t have to be a stone wall all the time ok?” Mikasa chuckled a bit at this, then leant back in her chair.

“Oh, and by the way, there’s going to be a party tonight. I don’t know who’s throwing it, but it’s down in the higher up’s quarters. I think in commander Erwin’s room?” Mikasa gave a puzzled look.

“That seems a bit out of place don’t you think? Half our comrades just died.”

Armin looked pained at the mention of his fallen friends. “I just want to take my mind off that for a while, don’t you? This could be an opportunity to celebrate their lives too, y’know?”

“Will you and Eren be going?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“And Jean?”

“I think he helped organise it, so yes.”

“Then yes. I don’t want Eren to get even more injured.”

Armin released a laugh. “He has literally lost his arm, Mika, I highly doubt he’s going to get into any fights soon.”

Mikasa rested her head in her hands. “You know he will Armin. That boy is something else.”

Eren didn’t come back into the office again that day, saying he was scared that Mikasa would hit him again (fair point) and he much preferred it in comms. It was obviously a lie, but Mikasa couldn’t help but wonder what the hell he was doing in comms. It then came the time for her to “put on something nice” as Armin would say it, for the party. Mikasa barely owned any clothes, and she really felt this lack when she looked in her wardrobe, and all it was, was just uniform that had been issued. She might need to get creative with this one. A door slammed behind her, and Mikasa turned to see a very grumpy Annie pulling her hoodie over her head, and slumping into her bed.

“What’s wrong then.” Mikasa asked.

“It’s just my squad. They’re being so annoying – especially Reiner and Berty. God they are so infuriating! Ever since they started dating, it’s hard to talk to them without one of them calling the other ‘honey’ or something stupid. Ugh! And don’t get me started in Pieck. She’s got her head in the clouds constantly! It’s like ever since she met that Yelena bitch or whatever, she’s just nowhere, all the time!” Annie flopped back, after pacing the room frantically.

“Are you done then?” Mikasa inquired, digging around in the closet desperately looking for something that didn’t look like a uniform.

“Yeah. I guess so.” Annie sighed, pulling at her hoodie strings.

“You’ve had quite the day then. You going to the party?” The dark haired girl inquired.

Annie closed her eyes. “I never really was one for parties. You?”

“Not usually,” Mikasa pulled out a suit jacket, along with some dress pants. “Although this time I can make an exception. I don’t want Eren in a fight.” She turned around, looking at herself in a mirror. Why she cared what she looked like, she didn’t know. She quickly undressed, now not really caring if Annie saw. She pulled on the pants, and the jacket on top of the white shirt. She faced Annie.

“How does this look?” Annie lifted herself up, and studied Mikasa’s outfit.

“You look like you’re going to a wedding. You need something more casual.” Annie finally said, after looking her body up and down a few times. “Keep the shirt though, that bit can stay.”

“Well, you see, I don’t actually have any other clothes.” Annie stared. “Well, I guess you could just lose the jacket, and then cuff the pants? That could look good.” Mikasa couldn’t help but feel blood rising to her face, as Annie studied her. She quickly cuffed the bottoms of her trousers, and took off the jacket. She once again looked in the mirror, and didn’t mind what she saw.

“Uh, thanks a lot dude. You should try and come to the party. I want to have someone to talk to when everyone else is shit faced.”

“Reiner and Bert invited me too. I might, if I’m feeling better later I guess.” Mikasa smiled softly in her direction.

“Well, I hope to see you there Leonhart. Thanks for the fashion advice too.”

Annie also smiled slightly. “You’re welcome Ackerman.”

She got to the room, and knocked 3 times on the door. A very surprised Erwin answered, and Mikasa immediately saluted. Erwin laughed.

“No need for that tonight Ackerman, this isn’t a formal event or anything. Just something to take our minds off things, but you seem to be quite early? I’ve only got officers inside I’m afraid.”

“I thought it started at 7 sir?” Mikasa replied, puzzled as to why Eren and Armin weren’t there yet.

“I think everyone is trying to be… how do the kids say it these days… fashionably late?” He said, scratching his head. This only confused Mikasa more.

“Well that isn’t very good practice in my opinion sir. Should I go, or just head on in?”

“Come on in Ackerman. You might as well. Loving the cuffs on the trousers too, glad there are more of us in here.” He said with a wink, before going back in and holding the door open. How curious. She stepped inside, and was greeted with a view of Hanji stumbling around drunk already apparently. To be honest, they deserved it after locking themselves in the lab for the past week. Moblit ran after them, pleading for them to go back to their room and sleep.

“You know what I always say Moblit, no weary for the rest!” And they were off again, saying something about blood and microscopes. Moblit walked past Mikasa, giving her a sympathetic look.

“I’m fairly sure they’ve taken some hallucinogenic drugs, god knows where they got them from though.” Moblit sighed. He obviously had a high amount of love for Hanji if he was able to deal with this type of behaviour. Mikasa politely smiled back while he once again ran off. Over by the snacks table, Rico and Nanaba stood deep in conversation. Mikasa walked over, wanting to gauge their reaction and see if her theory was right.

As soon as Rico caught sight of her she stiffened, looking away from Nanaba slightly. The other woman smirked.

“Ackerman.” Rico nodded in her direction.

“Ma’am. By the way, I had a question I wanted to ask you? About something that happened a couple of weeks ago.”

She inhaled her drink, coughing heavily. Nanaba patted her on the back to try and soothe her, but Rico shook her off.

“Ackerman, I hope you didn’t tell anyone about what you… saw. It was careless of me and- “

“I hate to interrupt, ma’am, but it wasn’t about that.” Rico went red.

“Ah. I see. Well, you can forget I said any of that. I- I should leave.” She then picked her drink back up and left, heading over to the bathroom.

Nanaba let out a hearty laugh. “Seriously, she gets worked up over the smallest things. I’ll see you around too I guess Ackerman. Oh and by the way, it was me that you saw. Try not to spread it round too much though, I doubt Rico could handle that.” She patted Mikasa on the back, and turned to walk off in the same direction that Rico did. Strange.

Mikasa ladled out something that looked like coloured water into some sort of a plastic cup, and then went to sit down on the sofa. She took this time to look around the area. Because it was Erwin’s room, it was the largest in the entire complex, looking almost like a house. There were four bedrooms that she knew of, and a huge living area and kitchen. She couldn’t bare to think about the mess that would be left once people like Jean and Eren got here. They would probably purposefully make a mess. In the corner, Captain Levi was standing with Petra, talking in hushed tones. Everyone thought they were dating, but Mikasa didn’t think that. Levi didn’t seem to like anyone in this place. Standing by the other sofa was Pieck and Yelena. Pieck had a very sweet smile, and Yelena had a small smirk on her face. This might’ve been the first time that Mikasa had ever seen Yelena smile. Like ever. Good on Pieck. Yelena moved away, towards the table with the water on it, and Pieck walked towards Mikasa.

“Hiya… Mikasa was it?” Mikasa nodded. “Good to see you out of that hospital bed. Thank you, by the way, for directing me towards Yelena. It really helped me out.”

“I can see that.” Mikasa said with a smirk, glancing towards Yelena.

Pieck laughed. “That obvious huh? I’m gonna have to work on that.” She sat down. Yelena came back over, a drink in each hand. She leant down and handed one to Pieck.

“I’ll be in the kitchen if you want me.” She quietly muttered, before walking off again.

“She’s quite socially awkward, if you didn’t know that already.” Pieck said, not taking her eyes off the tall woman.

“Yeah, I haven’t spoken to her more than three times, even though she’s been here longer than me. She usually just stays in comms.”

“Yeah. A quiet giraffe.” Mikasa heard the other woman say, just barely above a whisper. The shorter woman then got up and followed Yelena to the kitchen. Wow, Yelena must really like her. The sound of a door opening brought Mikasa’s eyes to the door, where a short blonde walked in. Historia Reiss, the daughter of the once President of the country. After the titans, he of course lost most of his power, but he still had some sort of influence over the military, although not very much. After her walked Ymir, Historia’s girlfriend. How Ymir netted Historia, Mikasa would never know. Ymir was rude, tall, and not a very nice person in general. She liked to tease people, whereas Historia was a goddess on earth, kind to everyone she met, and short. She caught sight of Mikasa and waved, running over to where she was sitting.

“Hey Mikasa, how are you? I didn’t think I would see you here.”

Mikasa smiled back. “I’m fine, and Armin somehow convinced me to come here. Staring to regret it though.” Historia shone her sparkling eyes at her.

“Oh please don’t leave! I promise Ymir will be on her best behaviour.” Mikasa laughed at that comment, “And best behaviour meaning she won’t spit at people tonight?”

“Hey, I don’t spit on people! Only when they really piss me off!” A gruff voice from behind Historia came. Ymir wrapped her lanky arms around Historia’s waist, and kissed her on the cheek.

“Hey!” Historia squeaked. “Stop that, we’re in public.”

“I just love you too much, I can’t keep my hands off you.” Mikasa gagged.

“Look, you’re upsetting Mikasa. We can get back to this later.” Historia scolded, not really meaning it though. Ymir fake pouted, and then collapsed onto the sofa next to Mikasa.

“So, you’re a lesbian now then? Congrats dude, never thought you would come out.” Ymir said, looking down at the cuffs on Mikasa’s trousers with a smile.

Mikasa choked, then whipped her head around to look at Ymir.

“What???!! Who told you that??” Mikasa whisper-shouted.

Historia shot Ymir a disapproving look. “Ymir! You can’t just say that, she might not be out yet!”

“Hang on. I’m not a lesbian. No way.”

“Really? I just saw the cuffs on your jeans and thought… You know what, never mind.” Ymir said with a sigh.

Historia cupped her hands to her mouth. “Oh my god! Mikasa, I’m so sorry, I jumped to conclusions.”

Mikasa was about to ask what the significance of the cuffs on her trousers were, when the door banged open, and the rest of the survey corps arrived. Eren was at the front, yelling things about "getting this party started" and the like, while Armin looked on in disappointment. She just barely caught a glimpse of Jean pouring a whole bottle of vodka into the coloured water, whilst Sasha and Connie danced around the room, spraying silly string everywhere. This was going to be a long night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao just watched the latest ep of aot s4 and it literally broke me, my eyes are watering slightly, so i'll be putting more fun Sasha content in to make myself feel better. im not crying im just cutting onions


End file.
